00983 - History of Political Doctrines (F-N)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students: - know the fundamental features of the modern and contemporary History of Political Thought, - know the main forms of political communication and understand the complex relationships between ideas and facts, - know the most important political doctrines and are able to critically analyze them in connection with the relevant cultural, institutional, historical and social context,- is able to understand the most important political and institutional changes in Western history.

Course contents

The course analyses the most important modern and contemporary Western political doctrines through the lenses on the one hand of the concept of freedom/liberty, on the other hand of political concepts of war and peace, focusing on classical authors like Machiavelli, Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Kant, Burke, Sieyès, Olympe de Gouges, Madame de Staël, Constant, Tocqueville, Marx, Mill, Weber, Schmitt, Kelsen. Special attention will be paid to the political thought of women, through the reading of texts by authors such as Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, Madame de Staël, Flora Tristan, Herriet Taylor, Simone Weil and Hannah Arendt. The course will pay particular attention: to the theme of power and the evolution of the State in the Modern age; to constitutionalism as “technique of freedom”, as a means to defend rights against arbitrary power; to the complex relationship between liberalism and democracy as it went to shape, from the age of Revolutions, during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Secondly, texts by authors dedicated to the theme of rights and justice will be analysed, without neglecting some references to the theme of women's emancipation from French Revolution to the first half of the 20th century.

The course is organised in face-to-face classes (60 hours). The number of students admitted to the class is determined according to class capacity and health and safety regulations.

Readings/Bibliography

STUDENTS ATTENDING THE COURSE

Mandatory books:

- C. GALLI (a cura di), Il pensiero politico moderno, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017 (parts to be agreed during the lessons);

- R. GHERARDI (a cura di), La politica e gli Stati. Problemi e figure del pensiero occidentale, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2022 (parts to be agreed during the lessons);

- G. SCIARA (a cura di), Quale politica dopo il virus? Concetti politici alla luce della pandemia, Milano, Mimesis, 2023 [in corso di stampa] (parts to be agreed during the lessons);

- M.L. LANZILLO (a cura di), Libertà, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2014, III ed. (parts to be agreed during the lessons);

 

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE COURSE

PAY ATTENTION. Since the bibliography for students not attending the course is partially different from that of the attending ones, not attending students are kindly requested to meet the teacher at least once before the exam to get in touch with the program.

Teaching methods

The course includes the reading and conceptual analysis of texts by classical authors of political thought. The aim is to provide the conceptual tools and vocabulary of the history of modern and contemporary political thought.

The course is organised in face-to-face classes (60 hours). The number of students admitted to the class is determined according to class capacity and health and safety regulations.

Assessment methods

STUDENTS ATTENDING THE COURSE

Two written examinations with 6 open questions will be held during classes in order to understand how familiar the students have become with taught matters.

In case of a positive result in both tests, students will be able to record he final evaluation will be an average of the two written examinations.

 

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE COURSE

For not attending students the exam will be exclusively oral. The examination will focus on the institutional and monographic part (previously agreed with the teacher) in order to demonstrate how confident the students are with the analysis and criticism of the history of modern and contemporary political thought.

Teaching tools

During the course, several iconographic and textual materials will be made available on the "Virtuale" platform; they will be considered an integral part of the examination programme.

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Sciara